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Loki
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« on: October 12, 2003, 02:18:09 AM » |
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Back in the heyday when 2d fighters like Mortal Kombat were dominating the coin ops, a company called Namco decided 3d was the wave of the future and released a game called Tekken that looked and played better than Sega’s Virtua Fighter. Eventually Namco decided to combine 3d fighting with a focus on weapon combat, and Soul Edge was born. It was a huge success, spawning an even more successful sequel called Soul Calibur. Soul Calibur (or as we will refer to it – SC), brought gamers out to the arcades in droves with its breathtaking graphics and infectious weapon based fighting. At the time, only one home console system was capable of handling the amazing graphics of SC, and as it was the Sega Dreamcast. Gamers watched the fighter transcend onto the unfortunately doomed Sega Dreamcast with incredible anticipation. SC quickly became the most prominent fighting game for the system, with people buying the console solely for that game. As the Dreamcast’s popularity began to weaken, a large void began to open for fans of the SC series. Years have passed since the Dreamcast’s demise, and while hordes of gamers left their Dreamcasts hooked up for SC battles, many have moved on to greener pastures of the next-gens like the PS2, Gamecube and Xbox. Namco has now answered to the Soul Calibur generation gap, releasing the long awaited Soul Calibur 2 for all consoles and even the arcade. While the arcade version was released first, it only fueled the buzz for the impending console versions as fanatic gamers began importing the Japanese version of the game because they were simply too excited to wait. Was Soul Calibur II worth the wait, and does it stand a chance against the plethora of fighters available on our consoles? Read on to find out…
Visuals:
Soul Calibur II is a graphical splendor of a game, with every battleground a lush, lively arena. The 3d engine behind the game has been refined, improved and focused to provide the best looking arenas and backgrounds yet. Most of the arenas are well detailed and animated with rolling smoke, waterfalls, and spinning windmills in the background. While most of the attention will be focused on the players, having that extra bit of polish certainly adds to the overall experience.
The characters have extensive detail, and very interesting and imaginative designs. Each character also has different outfits to choose from, and tons more that can be unlocked (more on this later). The animations are smooth and crisp; sporting Namco’s trademark colorful sparks and trails on each attack and hit.
As the titles before it, Soul Calibur II pushes the graphics envelope a bit further with high details and frame-rates to match. The visual design is also pretty imaginative, from the costumes to the look of the characters like Voldo and Nightmare. Most gamers will not be disappointed in this area in the slightest.
Sound Design:
Soul Calibur II features music in the same style of its predecessors, and that’s a good thing. The music fits the game very well, and is infectiously catchy. The composer from the first Soul Calibur, Junichi Nakatsuru, has returned to bring some renaissance style classi-synth anthems that blast in almost a vivid response to the on-screen action. To a lot of gamers, the music will be simply transparent but it is very well done and fits the style of the game very well. Some avid fans might also recognize some reoccurring themes brought back from the original Soul Calibur as well.
One area that sorely needs improvement is the English dubbing. The voices featured in the US version of the game sound like bad Saturday morning cartoon rejects. It is some of the worst heard yet, with most mature gamers cringing at the sound of each taunt and corny remark the characters make. Fortunately, there IS an option to turn on the Japanese audio which is much better.*
Mechanics:
The Playstation 2 controller is a friendly one on the hands, and Soul Calibur 2 makes full use of the many buttons available on the controller. A lot of more ‘old school’ fighting game fans who don’t like using shoulder buttons should be content that all the necessary moves can be performed using combinations of the four standard buttons. There is a block, medium attack, high attack, and kick button and pressing these buttons simultaneously can produce special attacks and throws. The shoulder buttons simply compress these combos into one button, to make it easier for those who would rather press one button instead of two.
Large deals of gamers feel that this game favors the ‘button masher’: an inexperienced player who simply keeps pounding buttons performing repetitive moves in hopes of winning against a more experienced player. In some cases this can be true, but once the player masters the basic techniques and learns some of the moves officially, a button masher can easily be smacked down. The more heated battles will be between experienced players. Button mashers will probably become bored of the game quickly, and succumb to the game’s steep difficulty curve as they advance further into the game.
One glaring problem is the saving system. While playing through weapon master and the other modes as well, the game automatically saves your progress. Unfortunately, for households with multiple players and one copy of the game, there doesn’t seem to be an option to start a new game in weapons master on a different save slot. This ultimately can ruin the experience of unlocking content for players who have to share one copy of the game, such as roommates. Whichever gets first dibs on it basically shuts out all other players from the experience unless they erase their data. Simply switching memory cards in and out would be an option, however a lot of gamers who only own one memory card for their PS2 probably would not feel that this came alone could justify the purchase of another. It is an unfortunate problem, and one that could have easily been corrected by allowing more save options.
Game-play:
This is the area where Soul Calibur II shines and justifies a $50 purchase. Aside from drunken battles and parties, the arcade mode can come into any happy home and turn it into a s**t-talkin’ riot zone. Many gamers will huddle under the covers of the bed with a flashlight, studying the instruction book and move lists they either compiled from the in-game commands or downloaded off the ‘net. Once the moves become memorized, then they will begin to use technique to thwart opponents. The technique is fairly easy to learn but also very versatile, allowing for experienced fighters to really utilize their skills against one another. For example, side stepping can turn the tide of any impending attack allowing the other player to remain vulnerable for a small window of time. There is also the 8-way run mode and guard impact, to name a few. The 8-way run actually allows you to control the direction your character runs with the analog pad. The guard impact allows you to parry your opponent’s attacks, leaving them open for a strike. Once these techniques are mastered, you become quite a formidable opponent to any other experienced player.
Soul Calibur II features tons of other modes aside from the arcade mode. There’s a time attack mode, survival mode, team battle mode, and a few other variations of these. What seems to captivate most gamers though, is the Weapons Master mode. This new mode is almost like an adventure game, having the player travel through a world fighting different enemies and finding items. The weapons master mode is actually what unlocks the most content in the game, from new levels to different weapons for each character. You can win new weapons, new levels, new characters, and bonus content like art and costumes. Overall, there is a huge amount of extra content that is un-lockable, and playing through weapons master will provide hours of replay-ability.
Once all the content is unlocked through playing the weapons master mode and the arcade modes, it only enhances the game’s worth and appeal. There are roughly 24-30 selectable characters available, many which need to be unlocked. There are tons of arenas and costumes as well, so the more you play the more you can get. The great thing about weapon master is it also unlocks new modes of play, such as the “extra” menu. This menu actually provides the ability to play the normal modes but with some of the bonus weapons that have been unlocked.
In conclusion, Soul Calibur II not only functions as a great two player game for nights when your friends are over chillin,’ but it also allows for a great single player experience which will only enhance the other modes. Fans of the predecessors will enjoy it immensely, and casual fighting game fans probably will too.
Overall:
With loads of content to keep it in the PS2 drive, and a great combat system to tax the skills of the fighting connoisseur, Soul Calibur II is really what all the hype has made it out to be. It’s a great fighter with the Namco touch of polish, and a tried and true formula going the extra mile. Fighting game fans owe it to themselves to at least rent it and give it a shot, but most of the non skeptical ones probably purchased this game before it was released. Whether or not it is worth $50 is simply a gauge of how much you enjoy fighting games, and even some gamers who are not big on fighting games will probably still enjoy the weapons master mode due to the adventure elements. A few issues with the sound and save system tarnish what could have been a next to perfect game.
Pros:
- Great graphics
- Awesome soundtrack
- Loads of un-lockable content to keep the game fresh and exciting
Cons:
- Voice acting
- Saving system
*After additional poking around in the menu, we found the Japanese audio option...sorry for the confusion
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